Evaluation of Low Power Operating Characteristics of Miniature Anode-Layer Hall Thruster by Experiment and Particle Simulation

Abstract

In this study, to improve the thrust performance of a small-sized low-power anode-layer Hall thruster, an experimental investigation was performed for a newly developed thruster. In addition, particle simulation employing the radial-axial 2D3V Full-PIC-MCC method was conducted to optimize the operational conditions. From the results, it was shown that measured thrusts and specific impulses were 0.2 0.6 mN and 110 310 s, respectively, for discharge power of 11 130 W with Xe propellant of 0.2 mg/s. On the other hand, from the particle simulation, calculated thrusts and specific impulses were 0.78 1.3 mN and 400 710 s, respectively, for discharge power of 20 50 W with Xe, showing potentials of the improvement and optimization of the anode and magnetic field geometries to achieve much higher thrust performance.